Midwest
Entire Chicago school board to resign over teachers union dispute with Dem mayor: 'Deeply alarming'
The entire Chicago Board of Education have announced their resignations after reportedly resisting a pressure campaign from the city’s Democrat mayor to fire the public schools CEO during contract negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union.
Sources tell Fox32 Chicago that several of the board members grew agitated by an effort from Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office for them to get rid of Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez and approve a high-interest, short-term loan aimed at plugging a budget gap and paying for a new teachers union contract.
“It would be disappointing and irresponsible for Mayor Johnson to push for such a risky move just to lower the city’s own deficit. There is nothing progressive, transparent, or accountable about such a move,” 40th Ward Alderman Andre Vasquez wrote on X Friday after the seven board members said they would quit.
“The fact that this pressure would lead to an entire board — all of which were appointed by the mayor — to resign is unprecedented and deeply alarming,” he added.
CHICAGO SCHOOL BOARD APPROVES MEASURE TO DO AWAY WITH ‘RANKING’ SCHOOLS AFTER ‘LONGSTANDING STRUCTURAL RACISM’
Sources tell Fox32 Chicago that members of the Chicago Board of Education were agitated by a pressure campaign from Mayor Brandon Johnson, left, to fire Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez, right. (Jeff Schear/Getty Images for James Beard Foundation/Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Earlier this week, Johnson said, “I didn’t ask anybody to do anything,” and “The only thing that I’m requiring in this moment is leadership that’s prepared to invest in our children,” according to WBBM Newsradio.
Then in a statement on Friday, the mayor’s office said, “Mayor Brandon Johnson and members of the Chicago Board of Education are enacting a transition plan which includes all current members transitioning from service on the Board later this month.
“With the shift to a hybrid elected and appointed Board forthcoming, current Board members and Mayor Johnson understand that laying a strong foundation for the shift is necessary to serve the best interests of students and families in Chicago Public Schools,” the statement added.
The powerful Chicago Teachers Union said in its own statement that the resignations are the “latest instability caused by the CEO in our district.
“We finally have a mayor that is moving the district away from cuts and furloughs and leading us toward a transformed school system that provides for its students and their families, and provides stable quality education in our communities. To date, this CEO has told him ‘no,’” the CTU said on its website.
STUDENTS LEFT BEHIND AS CHICAGO HIGH SCHOOL SUFFERS FROM STAFFING ISSUES, TEACHER ABSENCES: REPORT
Chicago Teachers Union president Stacy Davis Gates, left, stands with Mayor Brandon Johnson as he arrives at the Legler Regional Branch of the Chicago Public Library on Feb. 7, 2024. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Martinez wrote a column in the Chicago Tribune in late September in which he said, “I remain against exorbitant, short-term borrowing, a past practice that generated negative bond ratings for CPS and that would likely lead to additional bond rating cuts and higher borrowing interest rates.”
The new 21-member hybrid elected and appointed board will come into office in January, according to Fox32 Chicago.
Johnson’s office says he will announce seven new appointments to replace the outgoing members on Monday.
Brandon Johnson, mayor of Chicago, speaks during the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“I really believe that they’re going to try and appoint a rubber-stamp board of his CTU colleagues and friends in order to give CTU everything they want before this board takes effect,” 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale, described by Fox 32 Chicago as a critic of the mayor, told the station.
Read the full article from Here
Wisconsin
Minnesota man convicted of ‘tree stand killings’ of 6 Wisconsin hunters dies
Chai Vang died at a hospital, Wisconsin officials confirmed Friday.
A St. Paul man convicted in Wisconsin’s 2004 tree stand killings has died in custody.
Wisconsin corrections officials said Friday that 57-year-old Chai Vang died at a hospital.
Vang was serving six life sentences in the case.
The shootings happened Nov. 21, 2004, on private hunting land south of Hayward near Exeland. Six hunters were killed and two others were wounded.
Prosecutors said the group confronted Vang for trespassing before he opened fire. Vang claimed he acted in self-defense.
A jury convicted him in 2005 of six counts of first-degree intentional homicide and three counts of attempted homicide.
Detroit, MI
I-94 ramp closures, I-96 shutdown expected to snarl travelers flying out of DTW this weekend
ROMULUS, Mich. – Travelers heading to Detroit Metropolitan Airport this weekend are urged to plan ahead, as multiple freeway closures could affect travel times.
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has closed the westbound I-94 ramps to and from Middlebelt and Merriman roads while crews repair the road surface.
The closures are expected to remain in place through Monday morning (June 15), though officials said the ramps could reopen sooner if work is completed ahead of schedule.
Despite the construction, access to DTW remains available via southbound I-275 to Eureka Road.
With increased traffic and potential delays, travel experts recommend arriving at the airport 90 minutes to two hours before a domestic flight.
Drivers may want to allow an additional 30 minutes due to ongoing road work near the airport.
Passengers are also encouraged to check in for their flights before leaving home, verify flight information, and have identification and boarding passes readily available when arriving at security checkpoints.
Wearing shoes and clothing that are easy to remove can also help speed up the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening process.
In addition to the work near the airport, eastbound I-96 is closed from the Southfield Freeway to Schaefer Highway as MDOT crews demolish the Hubbell Bridge deck.
That closure is also expected to remain in place until Monday morning.
Transportation officials advise motorists to check for updated traffic conditions before traveling and to allow extra time to reach their destinations throughout the weekend.
Copyright 2026 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.
Milwaukee, WI
After 15 Ks, safe to say the Phillies won’t be questioning Jacob Misiorowski anymore
Brandon Sproat makes best start of the season, but Brewers still lose
Brandon Sproat limited the A’s to one run over six innings in a tough environment in Las Vegas but the Brewers still fell, 4-3.
As Jacob Misiorowski faced off with the Philadelphia Phillies – who publicly decried Jacob after his stunning All-Star Game selection last season – the Milwaukee Brewers right-hander and his teammates swore there wasn’t any added venom behind his fastballs on June 12 at American Family Field.
Try telling that to the radar gun.
Misiorowski looked like a man on a mission – even the aw-shucks smiles from his locker postgame tried saying otherwis.e
The 24-year-old flamethrower incinerated the Phillies over a one-hit shutout in a Brewers’ 6-0 win, coming within one base runner of a perfect game and recording the most strikeouts ever (15) in a shutout of fewer than 100 pitches – colloquially referred to as a “Maddux”.
Misiorowski reached back for 104.5 mph, the fastest tracked pitch by a starting pitcher ever, and surpassed 103 mph three times against the final batter of his masterpiece.
Aside from a Kyle Schwarber single to lead off the fourth, it was, in a reversal of last July’s proceedings through the press, a bully stomping on innocent prey.
“What a joke,” is what Phillies shortstop Trea Turner told The Athletic nearly a calendar year ago when news came out that Misiorowski was going to play in the All-Star Game despite just five career outings. “That’s f—ing terrible. I mean that’s terrible, dude.”
“It’s turning into the Savannah Bananas,” said Nick Castellanos.
The motive for the Phillies’ comments was to defend their teammate, Cristopher Sánchez. The left-hander Sánchez was having a stellar year at the time and went on to finish second in Cy Young voting, but was passed over on the initial all-star selections. When MLB offered him a spot in the game under the condition he would be available to pitch two days after his final scheduled start of the first half, he declined.
Misiorowski, though, was caught by the stray blows emanating from Philadelphia’s clubhouse simply for accepting the commissioner’s invitation. The veterans on the Phillies felt his nod cheapened the honor that comes with making the midsummer classic.
But the only joke at American Family Field this time were the feeble attempts to make contact with Misiorowski’s heat that registered well north of triple digits all night.
Banana Ball? Nope. This was just plain bananas.
Misiorowski against the Phillies continued his conquest to do things never seen before on a diamond.
He averaged 101.7 mph with his fastball, which got 23 whiffs, the second most on any pitch in a game in the pitch tracking era (since 2008). He reached 100 mph 58 times, besting the previous record – set by himself, of course – of 57.
It was, to put it deftly, one of the greatest pitching performances in baseball history.
Misiorowski has shown a knack early in his career – this start came on the one-year anniversary of his debut – for rising to the moment, but he denied having any extra ammo for the Phillies.
“To be honest it’s about the same as the Yankees, Dodgers,” Misiorowski said. “Any of those big market teams, you always want to throw well against them.
Catcher William Contreras echoed the sentiment.
“That’s just another Miz performance,” he said. “I don’t think anyone’s paying any mind to that. I didn’t even have any idea of any of that going into the game. Wasn’t paying attention to that. He’s going out there doing what he can to show he deserves to be in the All-Star Game again.”
Whether you believe that or not, a second All-Star nod is surely coming to Misiorowski, who leads all pitchers in earned run average, strikeouts, batting average against and WHIP.
The Phillies will probably remain hush about this one.
-
Wisconsin7 minutes agoMinnesota man convicted of ‘tree stand killings’ of 6 Wisconsin hunters dies
-
West Virginia14 minutes agoElectrifying 2027 RB Khamoni Williams Commits to West Virginia
-
Wyoming17 minutes ago‘Pride Lives Here’: Belonging, visibility, identity in Casper’s queer community
-
Crypto22 minutes agoSouth Korea Police Detain Bithumb CEO Lee Jae-won as Bribery Probe Widens After Raid
-
Finance29 minutes ago2 Awkward Talks to Have With Your Kids Before They’re 18 (Not ‘That’ One)
-
Fitness32 minutes agoBest Fitness Trackers 2026 | Trainer Tested – Forbes Vetted
-
Movie Reviews44 minutes agoTODAY Film Critic Gene Shalit Dies After ‘100 Years of an Amazing Life’
-
World52 minutes agoKristin Scott Thomas Receives Crystal Nymph From Prince Albert II at Monte-Carlo Television Festival Opening